Office 2021 - Word won't update, says 'upgrade required' (Office for Mac)

Hello Amy, My name is EngineTyme, an Independent Advisor and a Microsoft user like you and I would be glad to help you. I understand that WORD app is prompting you to upgrade. IF your license is for Office 2019, then the problem results from AutoUpdate installing a wrong version of Office for your license. You have to remove the wrong version first: Uninstall Office for Mac - Microsoft Support [ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/uninstall-office-for-mac-eefa1199-5b58-43af-8a3d-b73dc1a8cae3] Then, install the correct version, which is 16.78.3 which you can download from this link Office suite (with Teams) [ https://officecdn.microsoft.com/pr/C1297A47-86C4-4C1F-97FA-950631F94777/MacAutoupdate/Microsoft_365_and_Office_16.78.23102801_BusinessPro_Installer.pkg] Please use the Help menu and choose Check for Updates. In AutoUpdate uncheck the box to automatically keep office up to date. 16.78.3 is the final version of Office 2019. “Give back to the Community. Help the next person who has this issue by indicating if this reply solved your problem. Click Yes or No below. “ Please let me know if you have any questions or concern. Best regards, EngineTyme.

You haven't provided any Version Numbers for Office & macOS but for general information Office 2021 cannot be updated beyond 16.77.1 unless you're running it on macOS 12.0 or later.

Sorry - can see that would be helpful. I'm running Mac OS Sonoma 14.3 and Word version 16.78, so if I'm understanding correctly I should be able to update Word. Excel and powerpoint have all updated as normal - all part of same package. It's unclear to me why it's just word having this problem?

In Excel click the program name in the menu bar & select the About... listing. Is the Version 16.78 as well? All Office programs on Sonoma should be at 16.80 [or later depending on Update Channel]. However, there sometimes is an installer glitch which results in a mismatch.

Excel and powerpoint are both 16.81

Hello, Try to use the link below to update your Word app and check if you get the notification again: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-word/id586447913?platform=ipad Best regards,

Hello Amy, Were you able to upgrade the Word app using the link, If no, what error message did you get? Best regards, EngineTyme.

Hi Bob, this issue is also present in v12.7.3 Monterey! The issue is with Microsoft AutoUpdate 4.67. From my tests, I did a downgrade of the AutoUpdate and it worked. When you update the Auto Update, we are faced with the same issue again. The workaround is to downgrade with Microsft Update. I have discussed the risks of downgrading and I could see many users on different forums already doing so without taking consideration of the security risks. Here is a workaround: https://techdirectarchive.com/2024/02/03/fix-microsoft-office-showing-upgrade-required-in-autoupdate/ or this link https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/office/problembehandlung-bei-microsoft-autoupdate-in-microsoft-365-und-office-f%C3%BCr-mac-d12d756a-4bb1-4c93-93a7-3d82aa918351 

Hi,

I had the exact same problem just occur with me as well. Running Sonoma 14.3, with an "Office Home & Business 2021" licence. My current version is 16.78, from December 2023

Microsoft AutoUpdate says "Upgrade Required" and when I click on the circle ? it tells me Office 2019 is EOL, which I don't have.

Surely the solution to this problem isn't uninstalling office and re-installing it, is it?

Hi, according to Microsoft and I quote "If you choose to upgrade to Microsoft 365 or Office 2021 for Mac, you'll simply need to remove the existing Office 2019 for Mac license, but you won't need to remove your Office apps". Therefore uninstalling and reinstalling does not solve this issue.